The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth. Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.
Today's horoscope says:
An interpersonal issue you've been grappling with could get extra sticky right now, and you could finally get worked up enough to want to tell it like it is.
Good for you -- expressing yourself is important and healthy.
Before you do, however, consider whether someone in this situation isn't coming across a little differently than they are in reality.
Or is that the problem itself?
Factor this into what you're about to say.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
Edithvale, Victoria, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Ntherlands
Amiene, Picardie, France
Uppsala, Uppsala Lan, Sweden
Milan, Lombardia, Italy
London, England, United Kingdom
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Boulogne-Billancort, Ile-De-France, France
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Sulzfeld, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany
Dresden, Sachsen, Germany
as well as Serbia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden, New Zealand, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Korea, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Malaysia and in cities across the United States such as Tijeras, Albuquerque, Lafayette, Waldorf and more.
Today is:
Today is Saturday, November 27, the 331st day of 2010.
Weekly Address: President Obama Delivers Thanksgiving Greeting
During this holiday season, President Obama used his weekly address to give thanks for the blessings of America, in particular that distinctly American impulse to give something of ourselves and do what is required to make tomorrow better than today. With that sense of determination and sacrifice, America has built a powerful economy, stood against tyranny, fought for equality, and connected the globe with our own science and imagination. And by working together as one people – as Americans -- we can overcome the challenges currently facing our nation.
Today, like millions of other families across America, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will sit down to share a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends – and a few helpings of food and football, too. And just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we’ll spend some time taking stock of what we’re thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another.
This is also a holiday that captures that distinctly American impulse to give something of ourselves. Even as we speak, there are countless Americans serving at soup kitchens and food pantries; contributing to their communities; and standing guard around the world.
And in a larger sense, that’s emblematic of what Americans have always done. We come together and do what’s required to make tomorrow better than today. That’s who we are.
Consider our journey since that first Thanksgiving. We are among the world’s youngest of peoples, but time and again, we have boldly and resiliently led the way forward. Against tough odds, we are a people who endure – who explored and settled a vast and untamed continent; who built a powerful economy and stood against tyranny in all its forms; who marched and fought for equality, and connected a globe with our own science and imagination.
None of that progress was predestined. None of it came easily. Instead, the blessings for which we give thanks today are the product of choices made by our parents, and grandparents, and generations before – whose determination and sacrifice ensured a better future for us.
This holiday season, we must resolve once more to do the same.
This is not the hardest Thanksgiving America has ever faced. But as long as many members of our American family are hurting, we’ve got to look out for one another. As long as many of our sons and daughters and husbands and wives are at war, we’ve got to support their mission and honor their service. And as long as many of our friends and neighbors are looking for work, we’ve got to do everything we can to accelerate this recovery and keep our economy moving forward.
And we will. But we won’t do it as any one political party. We’ve got to do it as one people. And in the coming weeks and months, I hope that we can work together, Democrats and Republicans and Independents alike, to make progress on these and other issues.
That’s why, next week, I’ve invited the leadership of both parties to the White House for a real and honest discussion – because I believe that if we stop talking at one another, and start talking with one another, we can get a lot done.
For what we are called to do again today isn’t about Democrats or Republicans. It’s not about left or right. It’s about us. It’s about what we know this country is capable of. It’s about what we want America to be in this new century.
A vibrant nation that makes sure its children are the best-educated in the world. A healthy, growing economy that runs on clean energy and creates the jobs of tomorrow. A responsible government that reduces its deficits. An America where every citizen is able to go as far as he or she desires.
We can do all this, because we’ve done it before. We’re made of the same sturdy stuff as the travelers who sat down to the first Thanksgiving, and all who came after – who worked, and sacrificed, and invested, because they believed that their efforts would make the difference for us.
That’s who we are. We shape our own destiny with conviction, compassion, and clear and common purpose. We honor our past and press forward with the knowledge that tomorrow will be better than today. We are Americans. That’s the vision we won’t lose sight of. That’s the legacy that falls to our generation. That’s the challenge that together, we are going to meet.
To every American, I am thankful for the privilege of being your President. To all our service members stationed around the world, I am honored to be your Commander-in-Chief. And from the Obama family to yours, have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you.
Jess Nevins of io9 has pictures of the tombstone marking the grave of Rev. Ichabod Wiswall (1637-1700) in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Though largely forgotten today, Wiswall was a prominent political figure in 17th Century Massachusetts. It is unclear why his grave bears the image of cosmic entity Cthulhu:
Duxbury does not feature in any of Lovecraft’s fiction; “Arkham” is based on Salem, “Innsmouth” is based on a combination of Ipswich and Gloucester, and “Dunwich” is based on Athol. But Duxbury was no stranger to sea serpents, even in Wiswall’s day. The English writer John Josselyn’s An Account of Two Voyages to New-England (1674) described the 1639 sighting of a sea serpent off Cape Anne, north of Duxbury, which sparked a rash of sea-serpent sightings along the Massachusetts coast, including Duxbury. And in 1857 Henry Thoreau wrote in his journal that Daniel Webster had seen a sea-serpent off the coast of Duxbury.
So it makes a kind of sense for a Lovecraftian cephalopod to appear on the Reverend Wiswall’s gravestone. The only question remaining is, is Wiswall dead in his grave, or does he merely wait there, dreaming?
The Soviet Union couldn't win in Afghanistan, and now the United States is about to have something in common with that futile campaign: nine years, 50 days.
On Friday, the U.S.-led coalition will have been fighting in this South Asian country for as long as the Soviets did in their humbling attempt to build up a socialist state. The two invasions had different goals — and dramatically different body counts — but whether they have significantly different outcomes remains to be seen.
What started out as a quick war on Oct. 7, 2001, by the U.S. and its allies to wipe out al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and the Taliban has instead turned into a long and slogging campaign. Now about 100,000 NATO troops are fighting a burgeoning insurgency while trying to support and cultivate a nascent democracy.
A computer program named True Knowledge has calculated the most boring day in history, or at least, in the 20th century. That day is April 11, 1954.
April 11, 1954: The Most Boring Day in the 20th Century
Computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe, developer of the search engine True Knowledge, has determined that April 11, 1954 was the most boring day of the 20th Century. His conclusion is based on an estimate of notable births, deaths, and events:
Every day something of significance happens, a person is born who is destined for fame, there is an event in the arts or sports, history is created. With 300 million of these facts fed into the “brain” of True Knowledge, Tunstall-Pedoe’s Cambridge company, the computer was asked: “What was the most boring day in the 20th century?”[...]
Nearly five million people are using True Knowledge every month, asking their own questions and contributing factoids and context to improve the quality of search.
Many of these facts include dates. The system has a unique understanding of the importance of the entities in the world which can be calculated as a number, such as events beginning and ending, births, deaths, wars, founding of businesses and the release of publications. So you can find out what happened on a particular day. For example, who was born on May 3, 1983?
“It occurred to us that we are able to objectively measure the importance of every day in history. Some days are highly eventful and on some days far less happens and we can also objectively estimate the importance of these events.
The Juvet Landscape Hotel in Gudbrandsjuvet, Norway is accurately named. Its seven rooms (each a separate building) offer spectacular views of the surrounding area: mountains, streams, valleys, and, no one room can be seen from any other. Once you get over staring out the window and get yourself outdoors, you can ski (even in summer), hike, go white water rafting, camp, and visit the Geirangerfjord Mountain Farm, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are now almost 7 billion people living on Earth. By 2050, UN estimates that the worldwide population will grow to 9 billion people. This means that more structures need to be built for shelter, to entertain and provide culture.
Will this be a test against time - to build as much as possible in the shortest period of time or will it be a creative competition to construct inspiring buildings that will stand the test of time?
Here are 15 of the oldest buildings that were built by our predecessors, appreciated by us and to be cherished by our successors.
Search engines like Google have become part of everyday life, not least in the academic context. But if knowledge is power, then search engines themselves are gaining ground as power nodes in their own right.
Market traders in Ghana will be banned from selling second-hand underwear from next February, trade regulators say. According to the Ghana Standards Board, used pants - and other second-hand goods like handkerchiefs and mattresses - are unhygienic and could pose a health hazard. The importation of these items was banned in 1994 but never implemented. Some traders in a market in the capital, Accra, said they were unhappy the move might affect business.
There is a lot of consumer demand for second-hand clothing, often imported from Europe, as it is cheaper than locally produced items. It is the same in many African countries. "Ghana is a third world country; we've been doing this all along, so why are they talking about a ban now?" Millicent, a trader in Kantamanto Market in central Accra, said. "The authorities should think again because our livelihoods are at stake."
Cynthia, another market trader, defended the business. "Second-hand underwear and other clothes we sell here at Kantamanto Market are better quality than new undies in the stores," she said. She admitted that some of the imported underwear was stained but said customers rummage through the piles and inspect goods before buying. "No matter how poor the person is, they will not chose stained ones and we throw them away," she said. One trader insisted that all the goods she sold had been disinfected.
Second-hand clothing is often referred to as "obroni wewu", which literally translates as "white man's deads". Some customers also seemed dismayed by the news of the forthcoming ban, he says. "I've been wearing 'obroni wewu' all my life from infancy - all the clothes you see on me today from up to down are 'obroni wewu' - and I never fell sick because of used clothes," says Doris, a shopper at Kantamanto Market. The Ghana Standards Board has re-iterated that it is not all used clothes that are banned.
Mexican distiller Hacienda La Capilla has produced a bottle of tequila that it is expected to fetch $3.5 million at auction, making it the most expensive drink of its kind in the world.
The bottle is coated in a layer of 4,100 brilliant-cut diamonds and 2.380 kg of pure platinum. The Tequila bottle will now be going on tour in Europe and the Middle East in the hope of attracting potential buyers.
(NASDAQ:PRVT) Private Media Group, Inc. engages in the acquisition, refinement, and distribution of video and photo rights for adult feature magazines, movies, and the Internet, currently is trading at a price of $1.21, a dramatic change of -15.97% from its previous day’s close.
The stock is trading at a volume of 179,903 compared to its average volume of 3.80K trading shares. The stock is trading with a loss of -6.92% from its open this morning. Currently, the company has a market capital of approximately 25.22M.
(NASDAQ:CYAN) Cyanotech Corporation engages in the cultivation, production, and sale of natural products derived from microalgae worldwide, currently is trading at a price of $2.90, a dramatic change of -12.65% from its previous day’s close. The stock is trading at a volume of 853,632 compared to its average volume of 13.84K trading shares. The stock is trading with a loss of -11.85% from its open this morning. Currently, the company has a market capital of approximately 15.60M.
(NASDAQ:AMCN) AirMedia Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates digital media network in China for air travel advertising. It operates digital frames and digital TV screens that display advertisements in airports and airplanes, currently is trading at a price of $6.91, a dramatic change of -8.48% from its previous day’s close. The stock is trading at a volume of 1,247,611 compared to its average volume of 481.24K trading shares. The stock is trading with a loss of -7.12% from its open this morning. Currently, the company has a market capital of approximately 453.23M.
(NASDAQ:STRC) SRI/Surgical Express, Inc. provides central processing and supply chain management services to hospitals and surgery centers, currently is trading at a price of $3.65, a dramatic change of -7.83% from its previous day’s close. The stock is trading at a volume of 103,036 compared to its average volume of 14.40K trading shares. The stock is trading with a loss of -8.98% from its open this morning. Currently, the company has a market capital of approximately 23.69M.
(NASDAQ:PSTI) Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a development stage bio-therapeutics company, engages in the research, development, and production of placental-derived adherent stromal cells (ASCs), currently is trading at a price of $1.24, a dramatic change of -7.46% from its previous day’s close. The stock hit a new 52 weeks high of $6.06, with a current trading volume of 31960 compared to its average volume of 131.53K trading shares. Currently, the company has a market capital of approximately 27.07M.
Computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe, developer of the search engine 
(NASDAQ:PRVT) Private Media Group, Inc. engages in the acquisition, refinement, and distribution of video and photo rights for adult feature magazines, movies, and the Internet, currently is trading at a price of $1.21, a dramatic change of -15.97% from its previous day’s close. 
